Young voters plug in to politics

By Andy Sullivan

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) - It's not the neon lights or hip-hop beats that make this an unusual whistle stop in the November 2008 presidential contest. It's the youthful faces of those in the crowd.

At a high-tech forum sponsored by MTV and MySpace, some 200 Coe College students peppered Barack Obama with questions about Iraq, gay marriage and immigration, rewarding him with ear-shattering whoops when his answers meet their approval.

They've passed interviews and lined up hours ahead of time for seats at the event.

But when the 46-year-old junior senator from Illinois asks how many plan to take part in Iowa's caucus in January, fewer than one-third raise their hands.

"You can be part of the solution," Obama tells them. "If just the student body at Coe participated, you'd be a huge bloc."

If the history of Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential contest is any indication, they won't be. The average age of the Iowa caucus-goer is nearly 55, according to Iowa State political science professor Steffen Schmidt. This year's caucus takes place on January 3, when many students will be out of state for the holidays, and voting absentee is not an option.

The Iowa caucuses -- widely watched as an indication of who might win a party's presidential nomination -- are gatherings of voters across the state that are one step in the process of picking delegates to a party's national nominating convention.

"If I was home I would definitely participate," said Jennifer Winter, 21, who will be in Costa Rica with the school choir. "Things are going to turn out the way they turn out."